Conveyer apparatus.



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Patented Aug. I3, |901.-

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No. 680,2I4. Patented Aug. I3, |90l. G. S. BAKER.

CUNVEYEB APPARATUS.

Application med Feb. 4, 1901.) (No Model.) Il Sheets-Sheet 2.

No. 680,2I4. Patented Aug. I3, I90I.

6. S. BAKER.

CONVEYER APPARATUS.

(Application filed Feb. 4, 1901.)

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'Patented AUG. |3, |9l.

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No. 680,2l4.

G. s. BAKER. CONVEYER APPARATUS.

(Application filed Feb. 4, 1901.) (No Model.)

Patented Aug. I3, |90l.

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(No Model.)

No. 680,2I4. Patented Aug. I3, |90I.

G. S. BAKER.

GDNVEY'ER APPARATUS.

(Application filed Feb. 4. 1901.)

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(No Model.)

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No. 680,2l4. Pa'tented Aug. I3, 1901:' G. S. BAKER.

CONVEYE'R APPARATUS.

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No. 680,214. Patented Aug. la', |901. G. s. BAKER. CDNVEYER APPARATUS.

(Application led Feb. 4, 1901.)

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(No Mode'l.)

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Patented Aug. la, |901.

G. s. BAKER.

CNVEYER APPARATUS.

(Application med Feb. 4, 1901.,

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No. 630,214. ,Pafented'Aug- 13, 190|.

G. S. BAKER.

CONVEYER APPARATUS.

Application led Feb. 4. [901.) '(30 K069i.) Il Sheg-Sheet l0.

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Patented Aug. I3. 190|.' G. s. BAKER. `coNvEYEn APPARATUS.,

(Application med Feb. 4, 1901.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE SAMUEL BAKER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

CONVEYER APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 680,214, dated August13, 1901.

Application led February 4, 1901. Serial No. 45,953. (No model.)

To all whom, it nza/y concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE SAMUEL BA- KER, a subject of the Queen ofEngland, residing at London, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in or Relating toConveyer Apparatus, (for whichapplication has been made in Great Britain, under No. 12,964, dated July.18, 1900,) of which the following is a specification.'

This invention relates to chain or other conveyer apparatus, and has forits object the provision, in combination with apparatus from which pans,plates, buckets, trays, or the like are delivered in a single row andother apparatus through which they are to travel in two or more rows, ofnovel means which automatically divert the trays from the single row inthe desired order and at proper intervals and cause them to form intothe two or more rows into which they are to subsequently travel. v

This invention is applicable with advantage to, for example,biscuit-cutting machines delivering to traveling-chain baking-ovens fortaking pans charged with biscuits from the cutt-ing-machine anddelivering them automatically in two or more rows into the chainbaking-oven, and thereby dispensing with the manual labor and loss oftime hitherto involved where the transfer of the pans from the oneapparatus tothe other has been made, as heretofore, by hand-labor. Asimilar automatic transferis,moreover,applicable with advantage to otherapparatus than that just previously mentioned by way of example.

This invention is applicable not only -in cases where the movement ofthe pans or the like into the receiving apparatus is in line or parallelwith the direction in which they issue from the delivering apparatus,but also in cases where these movements occur in directions at an anglewith each other.

In the description which follows,this invention is .referred to, forconvenience, in its application to a biscuitcutter delivering at pans toa chain baking-oven into which the pans pass in two rows, although itmust be understood that the pans can be made to travel in more than tworows and that the invention can be used in manufactures other than thatof biscuits.

In one construction according to this invention endless-chain conveyersextend from the delivery end of the cutting-machine to the point ofentry of each row of pans into the mouth of the baking-oven and areoperated by any convenient means-say from the gear which drives thecutting-machine or the ovenchains--so that they preferably run at thesame speed as that at which the charged pans 6o aredeliveredfromthecutting-machine- Oertain of these chains have projections on them bywhich certain of the pans are taken straightforward intothebaking-oven.Other of the chains running in the same plane parallel with the formerare provided with elongated projections Which extend in betweensuccessive pans'issuing from the cutting-machine and not only serve topropel the pans in the desired direction, but also constitute 7o guidesbetween alternate pans which are moved forward, as described, and alsoshifted laterally, so as to ,finally enter the oven in a path parallelwith that of their companion pans. To edect the lateral movement of thepans in the desired order and to the desired extent While they travelonward, various devices according to this invention `may be adopted,these devices being geared to the cuttingmachine or drivenindependently, as 8o may be desired.

One shifting device according to this in.- vention comprises a pair ofendless chains disposed in the same vertical plane which lies aslant thepath of issue of the charged pans from the cutting-machine. These twochains have attached to them a vertical finger, which extends down fromthem sufficiently far to come into contact with the sides of the pans.The two chains run at the same speed, 9o and during a complete cycle oftheir movenient they cause the finger to act upon the side of one of thepans and to push it laterally out of its place into the next row whilebeing moved forward and then lift it clear of the pans and return itacross them, so that it misses the succeeding pau and arrives at thepoint whence it started in time to operate upon the next pan but one,pushing that into the second row in similar fashion.

of the finger in its path aslant that of the issuing pans is such thatits component in The speed roo the line of forward travel of the pansrepresents the speed of the pans in the direction of the component.

In another construction according to this invention the inger is carriedby parallel arms pivoted on a cross-head which is moved backward andforward by an oscillating lever along a guide disposed aslant the pathof the issuing pans. Mounted on the cross-head and geared to theparallel arms by a toggle is a weighted lever which will hold the fingerin either of its extreme positions-that is to say, down to bear againstthe sides of the pans or up clear of them. From one of these twopositions to the other the finger is caused to move at the ends of itstravel by stops, with which the finger-operating apparatussay thetoggle-comes into contact to. cause the weighted lever to shift from oneextreme posit-ion to the other. Conveniently these stops are movable andmay be screw-stops, by which the point at which the tilting of theyweighted lever takes place may be adjusted to a nicety.

In a further construction according to this invention the cross-headcarrying the finger and its operating-gear is caused to reciprocateaslant the path of the charged pans by a screw turned alternately inopposite directions by gearing which is under the control of areversing-clutch thrown over mechanically at the desired intervals.'Conveniently the arm of the operating-clutch may form a toggleconjointly with a spring which is pivoted in line with a fulcrum of thearm, so thatthe expansion of the spring tends to keep the lever over ineither of its two extreme positions. A convenient construction embodyingthis 'screw-gear is one in which the pans issue from the cutting andforming machine in a single row in line with the center of two rows inwhich they enter the bakingoven, two operating-screws disposed in ahorituse angle at which they meet and which is presented toward; theoven. By this construction the pans i-ssuing from the cuttingmachine arediverted alternately to right or left from a central chain withprojections and into the spaces between coincident but longerprojections on chains disposed in line with the two series of chains inthe bakingoven.

An additional construction according to this pivoted to stationarypivots between the rows of pans entering the baking-oven and oscillatingin ahorizontal plane to divert the pans by means of a coupling rod orbar laterally as they issue from the cutting-machine. Conveniently thesearms can be caused to reciprocate at desired intervals by rods operatedby tappet or other cams, which may be driven from 'the cutting-machine.There a single row of pans from the cutting-machine has to ,be divertedinto two rows in the oven, the arms may extend from pivots between thetwo series over both the rows and be operated so that the pairs of armsmove inward alternately, moving the first pan to the right and the nextto the left, the., as they issue from the cutting-machine.

lVhere the rows of pans in the baking-oven are to lie at an angle to therow issuing from the cutting-machine, the one, two, or more vpans at theend of the single row are simultaneously shifted sidewise or in thedirection vot' their diagonals, where the oven and cutter are at rightangles, so as toarrive simul-l taneously and side by side at the ends ofthe rows in the oven. This simultaneous shifting may be eected byshifting devices of the kinds herein described arranged parallel to eachother in pairs aslant the line of issue of the pans from thebiscuit-cutting machine, reinforced, if desired, by conveyor-chainsarranged in the angle between the two machines and feeding the pan thattraverses that angle toward that row which it is intended to occupy inthe oven. Conveniently those auxiliary chains run at right angles tothat row. The angles of the pans may be engaged by an angular pusher inthis construction. This ,pusher preferably would be applied to the panwhich is farthest from the angle betweenk the cutting-machine and theoven, as it couldnot be assisted by the auxiliary conveyer provided inthat angle.

This invention also comprises the employment of diagonaltransferring-chains above or below the plane in which the main con-Voyer-chains of the cutting-machine and oven travel. These chains effectthe'lateral movement of the pans out of the one row from the`cutting-machine into the two or more rows V for the o'ven. The mainchains for conveying the pans may be above them, and the others, lor themechanism previously described for shifting them laterally, maybe below,or vice versa.

zontal plane being geared together at the ob- In the accompanyingdrawings, which illustrate various forms of conveyer apparatus allaccording to this invention, Figures l and 2 are respectively a plan anda side elevation of one construction of conveyer. Figs. 3 and 4 aresimilar views of another construction. Fig 5 is a diagram showing inelevation a portion of the apparatus illustrated in Figs.-

and 4. Figs. 6 and 7 are respectively a lplan and a side elevation ofanother construction. invention comprises pairs of parallel arms Fig.Sis a plan showing a portion of another construction. Fig. 9 is an endelevation of the same. Fig. l0 is a side elevation of the same, andFigs. 11 and l2 are respectively a plan and an elevation of yet anotherconstruction of conveyer.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout IIO . wheels upon the shafteach pair of wheels chine, the details of which form no part of thepresent invention. The ends of its standards F', however, are shown inFigs. l and 2, and the shaft F carries other chain-Wheels F2, which helpto support chains F3, upon which the pans travel in single row from thecuttingmachine to the conveyer. These chain-wheels F2 may themselves bethe wheels of the cutting-machine. Adjacent to the other end of theconveyer is a baking-oven, a portion only of which is shown inthefigures. It is provided with two sets of chains G' G2, carried bychain-wheels G3, Which are mounted upon a shaft G. This shaft G formspart of a conveyer or chain-oven, and the auxiliary chains Gr4 aredriven therefrom, the corresponding wheels on the shaft C runningloosely. The three machines-namely, the cutting-machine, the conveyer,and the baking-oven-may be driven from the shaft F of thecutting-machine, which may be driven through the chains F3 or from anyavailable source of power. It is, however, preferable for the conveyerto be driven from the cutting-machine and the oven driven independently.The chains E' are provided with projections E2, which serve to engagetrays or pans H, which are brought onto the chains E' by the chains F3of the cutting-machine. The other conveyer-chainsD' have elongatedprojections D2, which are spaced to correspond with the projections E2and serve not only to convey any pans which are placed between themtoward the bakingoven,'but

also act as guides while these pans are shiftedv laterally from thechains E' to the chains E'.

The mechanism for transferring alternate pans from the chains E' to thechains D' will now be described. Upon the standards A is secured across-frame J, which supports one end of a diagonal frame J', the otherend of which is supported upon one of the standards A. Within this frameJ' are two chains (not shown in the drawings) which travel in the samevertical plane and have studs J2, which project through slots Jin theframe J'. These chains are caused to travel by bevel-gearing K K', thegear K being driven from the shaft F and connected to the gear K by ashaft K2. Although details of the chains are not shown, it will bereadily appreciated that by suitably mounting them they can be caused totravel so that the studs J2 travel around and around each in itsrespective slot J2. The studs J2 are connected by a finger L, and whenthe studs J2 are traveling in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2along the lower portions of the slots J3 the finger L makes contact withthe edge of one of the pans H and causes that pan to travel from thechains E gradually across between the guides D2 onto the chains D'. Thepan is completely transferred by the time the finger has reached the endof its travel in the direction above indicated, and the studs J2 thenmove up onto the upper portion of the slots J3 and return the finger L,the latter being then at such a height that it clears the next pan H,which consequently moves forward, continuing on the chains E'. The edgeof the third pan is engaged by the finger when it descends, and that panis then transferred, as described with reference to the first pan, tothe chains D'. The chains D' deliver the pans which they carry to thevchains G' in the baking-oven and the chains E' deliver their pans to thechains G2, and thus it will be seen that the pans'which issue in asingle row from the cutting-machine are caused by the conveyer apparatusto enter the baking-oven in two rows. The general construction of theapparatus illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4-such as the framing, the relativearrangement of the cuttingmachine, conveyer, and baking-oven, with theirtraveling chains-is substantially similar to that described withreference to Figs. l and 2; but`a modified construction of shifting-gearis employed for transferring alter nate pans from the chains E to thechains D', and this mechanism will now be described. Upon the standardsA is a cross-frame M, supporting in brackets M a shaft M2. To one end ofthis shaft is fixed a crank M3, connected by a rod M4 to a crank-diskM5, mounted upon the shaft B. Near the other end of the shaft M2 ismounted a bevel-Wheel M6,

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which'gears with another bevel-wheel M7, car- I ried upon a shaft M8 inbearings upon the fram-e M. One end of an oscillating lever M9 issecured to the shaft M8, the other end of the lever being connected by alink M10 to a cross-head N, which can slide backward and forward upon aguide N', mounted upon the standards A aslant of the path of travel ofthe chains D' and E. Pivoted upon the crosshead N is a weighted leverN2, connected through a toggle N2 with parallel arms N4, also pivoted tothe cross-head N. The other ends of these parallel arms N4 are joined toa vertical finger L', which'corresponds in its function to the finger L,mentioned with reference to Figs. l and 2. When. the arms N4 are'intheir lower position, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the finger L engageswith theedge of one of the pans H, and when they are raised the fingerL' is clear ofv them. The position of the arms N4, and consequently ofthe finger L', is determined by the vweighted lever N2, which fallsintoone or other of two extreme positions. (Indicated in dotted lines inFig. 5.) The lever N2 is thrown over into one IIO or other of thesepositions at the end of each v mechanism is clearly shown in Fig. 5.

sition of the various parts of the shifting The stops N5 are adjustableto allow for exact regulation of the point at which the finger shallalter its position. The operation of this conveyer is similar to thatdescribed Vwith reference to the construction illustrated in Figs. l and2, except that in place of the continuously-traveling diagonal chainscarrying the finger L there is the oscillating lever M9 Awith itsappurtenances.

In the form of conveyer illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 the chains F3 ofthe cutting-machine deliver the pans H, as before, to chains E of theconveyer, having short projections E2; but there are two pairs of chainsD', with` long guide projections D2, one pair traveling on one side ofthe chains E and the other pair on the other side. In this constructionthe pans are not delivered directly from the chains E to the chains ofthe baking-oven, but are diverted alternately to right and left first toone pair of chains D and then to the other, one pair of chains Ddelivering to the chains G of the baking-oven and the other pair to thechains G2 of that device. The transference of the pans from the chainsE' to the chains D is brought about by means of a finger which operatesin substantially the same way as the finger L', described with referenceto Figs. 3, 4, and 5. The finger is indicated at L2 in Fig. 6, but thetoggle, weighted lever, and stops are omitted for the sakefof clearness,one of the weighted levers being, however, indicated at N6 in Fig. 7. Inthe present construction there are two 1ingers, one to divert the pansto one pair of chains Dl and the other to move the pans to the otherpair of chains D. The fingers are operated by screws O, carried inguide-frames O', attached to a cross-bar O2 and to the standards A.These screws are connected by bevelgear O3 and are driven by bevel-gearO4. This gear is operated from a shaft O5, which carries twobevel-wheels O6 normally free to revolve about it. These bevel-wheels O6en- A gage with a common bevel-wheel O5, which is mounted upon a shaftO8 and driven by gear O9. Free to slide upon the shaft O5, but turningwith it, are two friction-cones O10, each of which can engage with afriction seating in the adjacent bevel-wheel O6. It will be seen thatthe direction `of rotation of the screws O is determined by which of thefriction-cones O10 is in connection with its bevelwheel O6, and this iscontrolled by mechanism which will now be described. The friction-cones01 are mounted or formed upon a sleeve,which is encircled bya collarO12. This collar is provided with trunnions O13, Fig. 7, which engagewith one end of a reversinglever O14, pivoted to the frame of themachine. The other end of this lever O14 is attached to and forms atoggle with a spring O15, and this spring by its expansion tends to keepthe lever O11 in one or other of two positions indicated in Fig. 7. Inone position one friction-cone O1O is engaged with its correspondingwheel O6, and in the other position the other friction-cone O10 isengaged with its wheel. The shifting of the reversing-lever O14 from oneposition to the other is brought about by means of stops O15, carriedupon a sliding rod O17, which is reciprocated, through a connecting-rodO15, by a crank-pin O19, which is mounted upon a disk O20 at the end ofthe shaft C. The operation of this conveyer will be readily understoodfrom the description p already given of the working of the other formsof conveyers. The fingers L2 operate alternately to divert the pans Hfirst to one side and then to the other, the motion of the screws O,driving the fingers, being reversed by the lever O14 and thefriction-clutch which it carries.

In the conveyer, of which portions are illustrated in Figs. 8, 9, and10, the chains F3 of the cutting-machine deliver the pans centrally in asingle row to two sets of chains D in the conveyer. These chains D' arecarried, as in the constructions previously described, upon chain-wheelsD on shafts B and C, and other chain-Wheels D5, loose upon the shaft C,support'chains G5, which are driven from other chain-wheels, formingpart of the baking-oven and not shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10. Theshifting mechanism comprises two sets of parallel arms P and P. The armsP are mounted upon a shaft R, placed centrally with regard to the tworows into which the pans are to be diverted. This shaft R is supportedin bearings R' of the frame of the conveyer. The other arms P arepivoted to a point R2 also on the center line of the apparatus. Theextremities of the arms P and P are coupled by bars P2, and these barsP2 engage with the sides of the pans H and divert them rst to one pairof chains D and then to the other pair. The motion of the parallel armsP P is brought about in the following way: To the shaft R is attached acrank R3, joined by a connectingrod Rito a lever R5, which is pivoted,as at R5, to the frame of the machine. Pivoted to the lever R5 betweenits pivot R6 and the end at which it is attached to the connectingrod R4is a connecting-rod R7, the end of which is connected to one arm of alever R8, pivoted at Rg and carrying a friction-roller R10 at the end ofits other arm. Alever R11, similar to the lever R8, is pivoted at R12and has one arm attached to the connecting-rod R7 at a point somewhatnear the lever R5. The other arm of this lever R11 carries afriction-roller R13; Midway between the levers R9 and R11 is a verticalshaft R11, carrying a disk R15, upon the periphery of which is aprojection or cam R16. The shaft R14 is rotated by bevel-gear R17 fromthe shaft B, and when the cam R16 comes in contact with thefriction-roller R13 the shaft R will, through the action of the variouslevers and connecting-rods, be rotated in one direction, carrying theparallel arms P P with it and. shift- IOO IIO

ing a pan to one set of chains D. When the cam R15 has been carriedaround by the neXt half-revolution of the shaft R11 into contact withthe friction-roller R10, the shaft R is rotated for a similar amount inthe opposite direction and theother set of arms move inward, shiftingthe next pan onto the other set of chains D', the first-mentioned pairof parallel arms returning to their original position. In Fig. 8 thelimits of motion of the various parts are indicated in chain-lines.

Figs. 1l and l2 show a form of conveyer which is useful when it isrequired to cause the pans coming in single row from the cutting-machine to travel, say, in double rows at an angle to the single row tothe baking-oven. In this construction the pans H are delivered by thechains F8 of the cutting-machine and the two end pans are shifteddiagonally simultaneously, so that they arrive side by side on thechains D', which convey them to the chains Gvand G2 of the baking-oven.The shifting mechanism is substantially similar to that described withreference to Figs. 3, 4, and 5, cross-heads N, carrying the fingers L,being caused to travel along guide-bars N' by the action of oscillatinglevers. In the present construction there are two sets of shifting-gear,as it is required lto move two pans simultaneously. Each of theoscillating levers M, Fig. Il, is mounted upon a shaft M8, which carriesa bevel-wheel M7, and each of the wheels M7 gears with a wheel M11,common to them both. This wheel M11 is mounted upon a shaft M2, havingacrank M3 attached to it. This crank is operated through a connecting-rodM4 from a crank-disk M5, mounted upon the shaft B. In order to assistthe progress of the pans which traverse the angle between the cuttingand forming machine and the conveyer and/baking-oven, auxiliary chainsF4 are provided driven from chainwheels F5 on the shaft B and supportedupon similar wheels F6 upon a counter-shaft F7. The pans moved by thelower set of shifting mechanism are engaged by an angle-piece L3, whichforms part of the finger L and fits the corner of the pan, thusassisting to keep it in its right path.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In conveyer apparatus the combination of a conveyer to carry articlesin a single row, a plurality of conveyers traveling synchronously sideby side one of which receives the articles delivered by the iirstconveyer, registering projections upon the conveyers which serve as'guides for the articles and means to divert alternate articles from oneconveyer to another substantially as set forth.

2. In conveyer apparatus the combination of a conveyer to carry articlesin a single row, a plurality of conveyers traveling synchronouslyside-by side, one of which receives the articles delivered by the iirstconveyer, registering projections upon the conveyers which serve asguides for the articles, a downwardlyextending projection, and means tomove the projections in a path oblique to the direction of travel of thearticles substantially as set forth.

3. In conveyer apparatus the combination of. a conveyer to carryarticles in a single row, a plurality of conveyers travelingsynchronously side by side, one of which receives the articles deliveredby the first conveyer, registering projections upon the conveyers whichserve as guides for the articles, a downwardlyextending projection,means to move the projection in a path oblique to the direction oftravel of the articles and means to raise and lower the projection outof or into engagement with the articles substantially as set forth.

4. In conveyer apparatus the combination of -a conveyer to carryarticles in a single row, a plurality of conveyers travelingsynchronously side by side, one of which receives the articles deliveredby the first conveyer, registering projections uponthe conveyers whichserve as guides for the articles, a guide disposed obliquely to thedirection of travel of the articles, a crosshead sliding upon the guide,a lever linked to the cross-head, means for oscillating the lever,parallel arms pivoted to the cross-head, a downwardly-extendingprojection carried by the parallel arms, a weighted lever pivoted to thecross-head and connected to the parallel arms by a togglejoint andadjustable stops upon the guide in the path of the toggle-jointoperating to cause the weighted lever to raise and lower thedownwardly-extendin g projection substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my. name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

' GEORGE SAMUEL BAKER.

Witnesses:

WALTER J. SKRRTEN, WILMER M. HARRIS.

Sis

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